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Postwar jump blues, swing and proto-rock \u2018n\u2019 roll is the order of the day on pianist Ben Levin\u2019s latest release, Still Here<\/i>. Informed by the rollicking New Orleans piano stylings of Fats Domino, Levin\u2019s record is an organic, retro affair that captures the sound and essence of music of a bygone era.<\/p>\n
Backed by a stellar trio that includes his father Aron Levin on guitar, Ben Levin explores a number of musical textures on \u201cStill Here.\u201d A reading of Joe Bihari and Frank Szabo\u2019s \u201cLove and Friendship\u201d opens the record with echoes of Louis Prima. The slow, meditative title track digs into a more conventional blues style.<\/p>\n
Another Levin original, \u201cThat\u2019s the Meal\u201d has a jaunty character and shouted, unison chorus vocals that recall Louis Jordan and the Tympani Five. Aron Levin\u2019s tasty guitar licks punctuate the arrangement while Ben spins out a playful rhythm. The rhythm section of Chris Douglas (upright bass) and drummer Oscar Bernal provides stellar, understated yet solid support.<\/p>\n
Levin demonstrates his good taste in his choice of covers. Joe Liggins\u2019 \u201cI Can\u2019t Stop It\u201d is loaded with verve, and well-placed guitar and piano stabs conjure mental images of couples dancing wildly. The sassy \u201cBad Idea\u201d slows things down; Levin\u2019s humorous lyrics serve up some sage advice. Bernal\u2019s snare holds things together while the other players lean into a greasy groove.<\/p>\n
One of three Levin co-writes with his dad, \u201cPlease Let Me Get One Word In\u201d is a supremely authentic pastiche of late \u201840s\/early \u201850s jukebox weepers. Aron Levin\u2019s tantalizingly brief slide solo is a perfectly-placed thing of beauty.<\/p>\n
Billy Boy Arnold\u2019s 1957 single \u201cKissing at Midnight\u201d gets a spirited, assured reading by Levin and his band. The arrangement is positively hypnotic. The Levins trade piano and guitar licks throughout \u201cCrown Jewel,\u201d a delightful instrumental. A keen and warm sense of humor suffuses Levin\u2019s music: Ben Levin\u2019s piano slyly quotes from Irving Szathmary\u2019s \u201cGet Smart\u201d theme during \u201cCrown Jewel.\u201d As fine as Ben Levin\u2019s vocal work is, an entire album of instrumentals would be nearly as welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristmas Rain\u201d finds Levin in the role of late-night piano troubadour, singing to a nearly-empty bar while the bartender upends stools and puts away newly-washed glasses. And he\u2019s comfortable in the role, wearing it like a second skin. That fact is all the more remarkable when one realizes that the pianist is all of 21 years old, just barely enough to gain legal entry into such a place.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer Older Brother\u201d underscores the fact that there\u2019s plenty of life left in familiar melodies. And Levin saves the best for last: the delightful \u201cYour Essential Worker\u201d bridges old and new. The tune combines old-fashioned male boastfulness with modern-day references.<\/p>\n
Bob Margolin counts himself as a serous fan of Ben Levin and his music; if any additional encouragement to explore this young musician\u2019s work are needed, Margolin\u2019s succinct liner notes included with the CD should do the trick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Postwar jump blues, swing and proto-rock \u2018n\u2019 roll is the order of the day on pianist Ben Levin\u2019s latest release, Still Here. Informed by the rollicking New Orleans piano stylings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,49,60,65],"tags":[4770],"class_list":["post-22471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-new-release","category-rb","category-review","tag-ben-levin","cat-9-id","cat-49-id","cat-60-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22473,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22471\/revisions\/22473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}